THE NATURE OF TRUE REPENTANCE

Psalm 51:1-4

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Psalm 51:10-17

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from you presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

There is hardly anything more fundamental to the life of a Christian than repentance. There is nothing more life giving and life renewing.

Repentance is a gift of God—

Without it sinners and saints cannot be renewed.

Only the imperfect are candidates for it!

True repentance is God’s Activating Grace.

- It remakes and restores and repairs.

- It starts in darkness and ends in light.

- It starts in bondage and ends in freedom.

- It starts in death and ends in life.

Repentance is the most basic of the basics—the very first of the “elementary teachings of Christ.” (Hebrews 6:1)

Of all of God’s creation only man can repent. That is why in Luke 15:10 it states “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

I believe one reason Jesus has not returned yet is because he is waiting for more people to repent! “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)

The way David responded when Nathan the prophet exposed the king’s sin is the first step to repentance.

“Before God can deliver us, we must undeceive ourselves.” (Ambrose)

“The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none.” (Thomas Carlyle)

I. First David appealed for mercy, pure and simple.

Psalm 51:1-4

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

David comes with his transgressions, his iniquities, and his sin.

- He is filthy and vile and stained.

- He appeals to God and the Lord is pleased with this.

- He invites it, He welcomes it, He desires it.

He wants to make us whole. He doesn’t want to hide His face from us. He wants to hide His face from our sin.

Micah 7:18-19

18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

II. Look at the boldness of David’s repentance:

- the man who committed adultery,

- who arranged for a cold blooded murder,

- who disappointed and offended the Lord,

- now asks that his evil would be blotted out and washed away,

- that he would be cleansed until he is whiter than snow—that gladness and rejoicing would be restored to him,

- that God would create for him a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within him,

- and that the Lord would open his lips so that his tongue could sing God’s righteousness and his mouth declare God’s praise!

Amazing!

What an incredible exchange!

He comes with iniquity and leaves with purity.

He comes with guilt and leaves with pardon.

He comes weighed down and leaves rejoicing.

We serve a compassionate God.

III. Repentance is not cheap.

- It cost the life blood of Jesus.

- It brought Him down to the depths.

- He paid the price to ransom our lives.

- He suffered that we might be changed.

I Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.

Repentance is where it begins.

- We die to the old and embrace the new.

- We turn from the world and turn to the Lord.

He does not want us to keep on sinning.

I John 3:4-6

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

5 But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin.

6 No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.

I John 3:8, 9

8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

Conversion means revolution and change.

Ephesians 5:8

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

Titus 3:3-5

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,

5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change:

1. We must fully accept our guilt.

Psalm 5l:3

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

- True repentance goes down deep.

- It is given by God to those that have truly had it with sin.

II Timothy 2:25, 26

25 Those who oppose Him He must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,

26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

When someone’s eyes are opened, when they cry out to God and mean it, when they are determined to make a change, the Lord has made it possible for them to have a spirit of repentance.

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change.

2. We must acknowledge that we have offended God.

Psalm 51:4

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change.

3. We must declare that God is completely blameless.

Psalm 51:4

so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change.

4. We must commit ourselves to abandon sin and pursue the Lord.

Psalm 51:13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change.

5. We must humble ourselves before our maker.

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

This is what we must do in order to see a radical change.

6. We must turn back to God and expect mercy.

Psalm 51:1, 2; 7-12

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

True repentance says—

- God, you are right and I am wrong.

- You have not failed me, I have failed you.

- I deserve your judgment, and you would be completely justified in pouring out your anger on me.

In meekness and reverence—

- I ask you to be merciful to me.

- To cleanse me and make me whole.

- To turn my heart and renew my mind.

- To give me the grace to obey so that I may never go this way again—according to your abundant kindness.

- Lord, I forsake my sin!